I have always had a passion for books and for the past four years I was honored with an appointment to the American Library Association CODES Notable Books Council. Now I am starting on a new adventure, the American Library Association CODES The Reading List book award for genre fiction.

Friday, December 28, 2007

This group will meet January 5, 2008 at 11 am @ The Roasterie Cafe located at 6223 Brookside Blvd. We will be discussing The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu. RSVP's requested but not required.Seventeen years ago, Sepha Stephanos fled the Ethiopian Revolution for a new start in the United States. Now he finds himself running a failing grocery store in a poor African-American section of Washington, D.C., his only companions two fellow African immigrants who share his bitter nostalgia and longing for his home continent. Years ago and worlds away Sepha could never have imagined a life of such isolation. As his environment begins to change, hope comes in the form of a friendship with new neighbors Judith and Naomi, a white woman and her biracial daughter. But when a series of racial incidents disturbs the community, Sepha may lose everything all over again.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

In the past two years of serving on this book award committee I have read enough environmental nonfiction to convince me that we are bad, bad people who are killing the planet.

So, I have been making a conscious effort to start taking baby steps toward living in a more environmentally responsible way. To help me with this I have been reading several environmental blogs and have signed up for several newsletters. The Sierra Club http://sierraclub.typepad.com/ puts out a newsletter/blog that you can either subscribe to or do as an RSS feed. Yesterday, the tip was something I can do on my cell phone (now permanently attached to me) and since I thought it was interesting I decided to share.

Be an informed eater: If you're torn between the trout and the halibut, text 30644 with the message "FISH" and the type you're considering to learn which is the more sustainable choice (fishphone.org).

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I must have been in denial the other day when I told a friend that I only had 40 more books left to read before January 11th.. I counted last night and there are 48 sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to pick them up. Granted, I did finish up two 750+ pagers but still...

Something tells me I should have taken more than three days off in January to finish up my reading.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

In my non-Notable reading years I am a bit of an SF geek. I particularly like Space Opera, cyber-punk and anything that has humor. One of my favorites is Terry Pratchett. For those of us who are fans, this is very sad news....taken from http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html If you haven't read anything by him, I strongly encourage you to try one of his Discworld books.

Folks,

I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, which lay behind this year's phantom "stroke".

We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet :o)

Terry Pratchett

PS I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell.I know it's a very human thing to say "Is there anything I can do", but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

At least one school in the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, area has temporarily pulled the novel The Golden Compass from its library shelves over concerns about what critics call its “anti-Christian message.” Mary Miller, media specialist at St. John Neumann Middle School and Lourdes High School, said she has taken the series off the shelf at the shared school library because she wants to have a chance to read them and decide for herself if they are appropriate for students....

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Virgin Bride said “Wow” by Cathy Gillen Thacker - (this may be my all-time favorite)

How to Be Pope: What to Do and Where to Go Once You're in the Vatican by Piers MarchantPeople Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves To Unsuspecting bystanders and what to do about it by Gary Leon Hill

The Beginner's Guide to Sex in the Afterlife by David Staume

Knitting With Dog Hair: Better A Sweater From A Dog You Know and Love Than From A Sheep You'll Never Meet by Kendall Crolius

Friday, December 07, 2007

This isn't goofing off at work, this is called "researching" useful websites.

The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa.

Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking. Take the test - http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

I may have mentioned this already but I LOVE Venice. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would marry Venice. In other words, I really, really liked it there. It may have helped that I went prepared to love it there but it had the vibe that all of my favorite cities have. A laid back energy, not pushy, just doing it's thing, waiting for you to fall in love with it.

View of the tiny island where we stayed (from inside the boat)

A picture of Venice from another boat. Yes, much to my friend's dismay there was a whole lot of boat riding in this city.

The buses are boats, the taxis are boats...well, you get the idea. This city might not be the best destination for someone like my friend who gets motion sick when just walking along. She was a good sport however.

The first day was the most fun.

We visited the small museum, wandered around aimlessly, bought our Venetian masks (mine is very pretty) and eventually ate Italian food (not Venetian food) and headed back to the hotel.

Monday, December 03, 2007

For the next month I will be reading frantically and cannot talk about what I am reading...which tends to cut down on my blog post options. I will probably not be posting much about books (although I have saved back a few book reviews because I knew this was coming). Anyway there will be a few more book posts, a couple more vacation blogs and on January 14th I will put up a list of the winners of the ALA Notable Book Council selections.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

I really liked the Musée d'Orsay but I LOVED the Musee Rodin, which makes sense because he is one of my favorite sculptors. It was also one of the most well designed and focused museums I have ever seen, housed in Rodin's house. Oh, and one of my favorite authors was his secretary for a while.

As an aside, in the book of essays I just read it talked about distinguishing the literature from the man (or woman) author. I believe it is the same with art. I don't have to like the sculptor to recognize the genius of his work. (He wasn't the kindest man around.)

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite pieces...

For some reason, I can't find this on the museum website so I can't tell you the name of the piece.

The Thinker

And what could be more charming than a whole group of art students sketching The Thinker?